* Canadian dollar at C$1.3084 or 76.43 U.S. cents * Bond prices mostly lower across the maturity curve TORONTO, Aug 18 (Reuters) - The Canadian dollar was little changed against its U.S. counterpart on Tuesday as crude prices held steady and investors paused ahead of domestic economic data due at the end of the week. Oil prices stayed near 6-1/2 year lows, and lacking other drivers on Tuesday, the Canadian dollar was expected to take direction from the commodity, a major Canadian export. Minutes from the U.S. Federal Reserve's most recent policy meeting were due for release on Wednesday, and market participants will be looking for clues on how soon the central bank will raise interest rates. Many expect a move this year, possibly as early as September. * At 9:12 a.m. EDT (1312 GMT), the Canadian dollar was at C$1.3084 to the greenback, or 76.43 U.S. cents, essentially flat with the Bank of Canada's official close of C$1.3085, or 76.42 U.S. cents, on Monday. * The currency was range-bound, trading between C$1.3079 and C$1.3126 in the session. * Investors awaited Canadian inflation and retail sales data on Friday. * U.S. crude prices were up 0.48 percent at $42.07 a barrel, while Brent crude declined 0.21 percent to $48.64. * The Canadian dollar, which was stronger than many of its key currency counterparts, is expected to trade between C$1.3080 and C$1.3150 against the U.S. dollar during Tuesday's North American session, according to RBC Capital Markets. * Canadian government bond prices were mostly lower across the maturity curve, with the two-year down 1.5 Canadian cents to yield 0.414 percent and the benchmark 10-year falling 28 Canadian cents to yield 1.401 percent. * The Canada-U.S. two-year bond spread was -31.20 basis points, while the 10-year spread was -78.1 basis points. (Reporting by Solarina Ho; Editing by Peter Galloway)